Show Your Purple
by Sapphire720
Summary: In support of Spirit Day. Light-hearted, maybe fluffy. Alternate Universe.


I wrote this fic 10/2010 before taking it down and it was in support of Spirit Day, in which you showed your support by wearing purple. Um there had been suicides all related to homophobic bullying and at that time I believe I was a good 6 months away from being forced to come out lol… Anyway I had to deal with a lot of pain from not being accepted and it really, really, cuts deep. In some ways I don't think I've been the same since. First there was just this emptiness and weakness, tired emotionally, mentally. I totally understand feeling lost and alone and even wanting to just give up. Some of us are lucky to have a family who accepts and supports us but have to deal with discrimination outside of home. Some of us don't have that but we're strong. Some of us don't have that and we feel very weak. It's really important that you don't give up… get mad, cry, but don't lose yourself. Anyways yea, if you feel like that then you should talk to someone you trust but if you're too scared and want to keep it private then I'm here and you can pm me whenever you want.

Okay, go on and read.

Show Your Purple

Vanille and Serah sat at the island in the kitchen with two glasses of milk and a plate of cookies between them. It had been about a half hour of watching but they seemed entertained enough by the two people running back and forth, from the living room to their respective rooms upstairs.

Vanille broke the silence, turning her head slightly to the other girl but keeping her eyes on the amusing spectacle before her. Lightning had turned a corner too sharply and hit her head against Fang's before falling on top of her.

"Figured it out yet, Serah?" "Nuh-uh."

Fang put her arm out as she fell, trying to save herself from being hit again by whoever the hell slammed against her. Her forearm pushed against the person's chest, a firm but much too fleshy to be a male's chest. She opened her eyes cautiously to reveal a pink set of deeply frowning lips attached to a, similar, but lighter shaded face. Said face didn't look angry or displeased as she would've expected. Instead she was treated to the squirming, shy, trying to be aloof but not getting there, face of her partner.

She easily thought of something smart to say, then thought of something comforting but decided to just get up as quickly as possible to save her the embarrassment. Lightning quickly followed suit and mumbled a quick apology before continuing to the living room.

Fang had been going upstairs but quickly forgot what for as her eyes followed Lightning, legs following suit shortly after.

The pink haired soldier stared down at all the clothes on the sofa and gulped nervously. She'd have to wear these things? Fang had just come up behind her judging from the height of the person, her breathing being right behind her ear.

Lightning stayed quiet and flinched slightly when she felt a hand settle comfortingly on her waist. She knew her partner just didn't want her upset but skin contact of any sort really wasn't what she needed from her. What she needed was for Fang to gather enough balls for the both of them to call up the lieutenant and cancel this.

She moved forward to break the contact but was shocked to find herself whirled around. Prepared to yell at her, Fang cut her off when she walked out of the room still gripping her arm. Stumbling a bit after her, she avoided looking at the two girls who had been watching them for the better part of an hour. She'd need to find a way to get them out of the house before the photographers came. And she wasn't against screaming until they were scared enough if that's what it would take.

Fang brought Light into her room and closed the door so their voices wouldn't travel. Turning around she saw Lightning staring at something on her bed. Walking over to the small purple bundle, Fang remembered what is was before she reached it. A bikini. She had been coming up to get it. Laying it out on the bed she wondered if she really should; Light was already uncomfortable as it was.

"You're going to wear that?"

"Well I was…"

She turned around to see Lightning staring expressionless at the two-piece ensemble with her mouth slightly open. Probably wanting to express her displeasure with it, Fang thought, but she decided to cut her short.

"You scared or what?"

"Huh?" Light's eyes snapped to hers then down to the floor as a light blush graced her cheeks again. "It's just that… You know I hate taking pictures."

Fang nodded. "No more than I do. But it's for charity and for a good cause. You'll look fantastic and it'll all be tasteful and fun… I'm a bit nervous, too but it's really not that big a deal. Plus, you agreed to it."

Lightning had looked pensive while Fang spoke but suddenly riled up when it was mentioned that she had agreed to it.

"You know that not true. He-he- argh!"

Fang couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Their lieutenant had brought up the charity to them about a week ago and Lightning flat out refused. He then tried to make a bet with her but she wasn't interested in winning anything to participate in the bet. That is, until he brought up something that seemed to embarrass her; she'd had no choice but to take part in the bet afterwards lest he'd start speaking openly of it. And once she found out the bet was that she was to not come into work for a full six months, she shook her head dejectedly and admitted defeat. "Yea I know, but you did lose the bet."

Lightning glared white hot daggers at her for not agreeing with her, while Fang took a seat on her bed. Shaking her head, Fang crossed her legs and looked at the clock. Another half hour or so left.

"Listen, if it's that big a deal to you then I'll do it alone. Okay?"

Suspicious eyes stared down at her. "And I owe you?"

"Nope. I'll just go it alone. I understand why you'd be uncomfortable and all, so you're off the hook. I'll even tell the lieutenant myself and take any punishment he dishes out."

….

"Seriously?" "Yup." Light sighed as all the anxiety left her. Her neck loosened up a bit and she could already breathe more clearly. That was a hell of a weight lifted. She felt a lot more energetic all of a sudden.

"Fang, listen, thank you. I know how much this means to you…"

She looked down at Fang, who was smiling at her politely, waiting for her to continue. This really meant a lot to her.

The both of them were supposed to represent the Bodhum Regiment in support of gays. Both inside and out of the military were more than a dozen recent suicides because of terrorizing bigots.

Fang herself was a lesbian so she was willing and proud and even though Lightning was all for the support of gays, especially in the military, she definitely had some qualms about being photographed for it.

For one big reason, most of the photographs were supposed to be of couples and for a second bigger reason, these pictures would be put into magazines, calendars, hell even up across different cities. She really didn't want to be photographed that way with a female, especially when it was for this specific cause… Couldn't they find another lesbian like Fang or something? Why couldn't she just sign something that said she was against the bullying? Or even wear a pin? She had seen that on much of the school children when she walked home yesterday.

"Lightning… you alright?"

She blushed again and took a deep breath. Fang cocked an eyebrow wondering if she was going to stop being a baby and just do it. She took all of the responsibility from Light to see what she'd do honestly. It meant a lot to her really but she wasn't about to impose and make the other woman feel guilty. No, but she couldn't lie either. If Lightning didn't want to do it this bad then it would speak volumes of their relationship. Not that she'd change anything between them but… it would certainly limit where it could go in terms of friendship and yes, love.

Finally the pink haired soldier spoke but Fang noticed how she held her arms to her stomach, as if hugging herself.

"Yes, I am. Thanks again. You know, I understand you support this but you don't have to do it either. Not that I'd be ashamed or anything if you did! You're my partner and… you mean a lot to me, but I just mean, you know…"

Fang sighed and stood up after grabbing the bikini. She bunched it up in her fists before letting it go, thoughtfully watching the fabric move accordingly as she released it. Maybe she should mention him. Maybe not. She wanted Light to do this because of her honestly. Not because of Gren or because of Amodar. But because it was something that was in support of… who she was. That probably wasn't going to happen though.

"But I want to. That's my reason for doing this… and… do you remember Gren?"

Lightning blinked. Briefly did she remember a beautiful man she had partnered up with a few times. Her memory of him was cloudy but then again, like her, he didn't speak much. Their silences were very comfortable though…

"Y-yea…"

Fang looked at her. "You remember how he died?"

Light was confused now. He hadn't killed himself, that much she knew. He had been found in the showers dead. She never knew why. As soon as she found out he was dead, she distanced herself from the situation. Should she have pried? It didn't seem right to her. It might've been drugs or a medical condition for all she knew. Fang continued, knowing she didn't know and also knowing exactly the reasons why she didn't care to find out.

"He was beaten to death…"

Lightning's eyes widened and her pretty blue eyes immediately showed the results of a sharp mind. She understood immediately. Fang kept speaking…

"He wasn't gay though." She cocked her head in remembrance. He was a close friend of hers. In fact, she'd had found out his secret shortly after they'd teamed up on their first mission. "No, he was transsexual... And apparently some of our lovely own, our soldiers, well they didn't take kindly to him making his own choices and one day in the showers…"

Lightning look shocked and horrified, appropriately. But Fang just sighed, she hadn't been thinking of him today and she just reminded herself why this really was important.

"Ahhh well, anyways, that also why I feel I need to do this. In addition to me wanting to. Plus, I think it's gonna be fun." Folding her arms behind her head, she walked towards the door.

"Fang…please." She knew what her friend was getting at but that still didn't make her less comfortable with doing it. "I just don't want pictures of myself up. It's embarrassing for me to be up on display like that… It's not about the cause. I'll donate though, I will. An entire paycheck. Hell, a month's pay… just don't be disappointed with me."

Fang turned around and looked at Lightning. The girl looked at her pleadingly, willing her to understand. And if she didn't understand her so well then she might've still held a bit of a grudge.

"That's really sweet Lightning. It's alright though, you don't have to prove anything to me. I do understand. I accept how you are and I'd never pressure you to do anything you weren't comfortable with."

She smiled at her and winked.

"But you'll come and watch, right?"

Lightning smiled weakly as she followed her out of the room and nodded. "Yea. I'm just going to be in my room until they come. Call me?" "Yea, sure. Don't chicken out on me now, I want your opinion on this."

She grinned cheekily as held up the garment from earlier. She must've caught Lightning by surprise if her reaction was any indication; the woman sputtered a quick reply and disappeared into her room, face red. Fang cocked her head in slight confusion and then smiled before going downstairs.

Light rummaged through her drawers. She had been thinking about this whole thing. It really did mean a lot to Fang, she could tell. Fang couldn't help her attraction to women and she didn't want to; she was happy with it, Lightning knew. She'd seen the other woman go to the beach just to sit back and watch women walk by while Vanille was in the water.

She couldn't help but blush remembering Fang's not so discreet habit of checking her out. She never felt uncomfortable around her though and that was something she appreciated about her friend.

"Where the hell is that ugly thing?"

When she thought about the charity, it didn't seem so bad really. Not when she thought of Fang doing it with her. In addition to that, she just felt she needed to do it. She wasn't really sure why but she felt like Fang should've been upset with her. But she wasn't. And that was great, to know she had a friend that understood her so well.

Did she throw it out? No she promised Serah she'd keep in 'just in case'.

She couldn't name why but…

'Here it is.'

She wanted to do this for Fang. She wanted her to smile at her. That happy, excited, proud-of-you smile.

Fang opened the door with a hand on her hips. Outside was a man in a purple jacket and she wondered if he got that from his job because of the occasion. He had absolutely no equipment on him and just smiled there like a damn fool.

"Hey. Are you the picture taker?"

He nodded and clapped his hands excitedly.

"Yes, yes the photographer." He corrected. "Am I photographing you? You are simply gorgeous. I'm sorry but those eyelashes and that beauty mark are going to make me faint."

Fang blushed slightly before glaring at the ground in a bad attempt to hide it. She was very used to compliments and all but his sudden way of voicing his charmed thoughts threw her off.

"Right, thanks. Where's your stuff?"

He ignored her and stepped inside of the house, looking around and spotting Vanille and Serah who still hadn't moved from their positions on the stools.

"These two as well? Hmm, they both look a bit young. I was told there were only two women posing for me."

The two younger girls immediately defended themselves to the man while Fang scratched the back of her head. They weren't exactly supposed to know Lightning was going to be photographed with her, especially considering Vanille would want to watch. She stared as Serah flashed her ring, telling the man she was already married and that Vanille was older than her. Vanille smiled as she agreed and leaned most of her body on the island to see around Serah.

"What are you here for? Is Fang gonna be taking pictures?"

"Oh yes, a Miss… Yun Fang and -"

Fang regained her usual nature and put her arm around the shorter man's shoulders.

"Enough of that. You, your equipment is where?"

"Oh about that, I wanted to see where we were doing the shoot first."

Fang walked him to the living room, wide enough to a dozen people comfortably and left him to look at window lighting or something like that. She quickly walked back to the two girls in the kitchen.

"Oy, you two. You have to leave."

Vanille pouted and Serah followed suit, both crossing their arms childishly. What the hell were they, twins now?

"But Fang, I wanna see you get your pictures taken. What's it for? Work? A special occasion?"

Fang shook her head and pointed to the door.

"Listen here you, it's all business here and neither I nor that man need any distractions. Now, go somewhere for a few hours. Go to the mall or the movies or something."

Vanille stuck her tongue sourly while Serah poked her head up in realization. Fang winced mentally hoping she didn't mention her sister.

"Lightning's.."

Damn it all.

"..upstairs isn't she? Is she doing it too?" "No. Your sister refused the request. Now if I give you money will you both shut up and go?"

Vanille nodded with a big smile on her face remembering that Fang had just gotten paid. She grabbed Serah's arm but the girl kept speaking.

"She doesn't have to leave too? Is she going to watch? What are you going to wear?"

Suddenly very interested in the shoot, she even pulled Vanille back a bit as she waited for an answer. Fang scowled darkly, tempted to throw them in a cab and send them off to the middle of nowhere.

She barely noticed the man moving back and forth with his equipment, apparently satisfied with the space they would shoot in. But the pair took the hint and put their shoes on, Vanille hopping back to her girlfriend with a hand out. Fang frowned as she handed her a card, afraid of what the thoughts behind that cheesy smile planned to do with her gil.

"You're lucky you're so damn cute. You and that one right there, a couple of traps." She smiled and kissed Vanille on the forehead. "Get."

"Gone." Vanille's smile widened as she grabbed Serah's hand and ran out the door.

It was getting dark outside, the sky pink and orange with hints of purple and blue. She turned around to see the man with all his equipment ready. She was astounded at how many lights and screens of some sort were set up so fast.

"What's you name anyway since you know mine?"

The man didn't seem at all jarred by her casual way of speaking and held out his hand.

"Name's Sebastian."

Fang nodded and shook his hand, liking him enough. He pulled out a notebook with very neat writing inside.

"Now, wasn't there supposed be another lady? Claire Farron?"

"Lightning please."

Fang raised an eyebrow as she looked behind her, not expecting to actually see Light for the shoot even though she told her she'd come. Her surprise reached new heights when she saw what Light was wearing, her mouth hanging slightly open as she took in the sight before her. It was a two piece with a ribbon wrapping around her waist, knotted into a bow on her side. It was pretty. Lightning made it look beautiful.

"Hi." She spoke softly, not aware that her mouth wanted to speak without her. If she had been then she wouldn't have said something so lame for a moment like this. She felt like she should be telling Lightning all the ways she looked like a goddess, even if it was in something so simple. Especially because of that actually, that way it didn't distract from the person wearing it.

Sebastian got to it first though. He rushed past Fang's with his arms out and stopped before Lightning as if he didn't want to break her with his touch.

"You're an angel. Is this what the military is offering nowadays because then I just might have to join. Your features! Look at your face! You jaw, cheeks, nose! Those lips! An Angel!"

Lightning's eyes were fixed on Fang as he complimented her, somewhat pleased as Fang's smile spread and she nodded in agreement. She found it ironic that they were agreeing about it because she'd always found the other woman's features mesmerizing. It was hard not to, Fang was known for being very beautiful in work and even around town. After hearing all day that her exotic partner's looks were sinful, she took a good look. She had noticed Fang was beautiful but after that she… couldn't even describe it. She didn't exactly lust after her, no she felt the way any woman would feel seeing another beautiful woman… not envious but… Appreciative, that was it.

After seeing how the two woman stared at one another Sebastian smiled and clapped his hands again once, loudly, "Don't tell me you two are a couple. How endearing! We'll have a lot of fun taking pictures then." Lightning snapped out of her reverie then. "What? No, we're not together. I'm straight."

He looked at her as if he didn't understand and Fang walked up to them, clapping him on the shoulder.

"The one from earlier, with the coral colored hair. That's my girlfriend. Light here, is just a friend. My best friend actually."

He looked between them for a few more seconds and then smiled knowingly before going to his camera on a stand.

"Okay then, well in that case you'll be comfortable to doing what I planned anyway I hope!"

Lightning nodded nervously and smiled feebly, trying to keep her backbone. Fang cocked an eyebrow and placed both hands on her hips. "You alright there? I thought you weren't going to go through with it."

Lightning looked her in the eyes and her resolve strengthened. "I want to do this. It's for a great cause right? They'll use the money to reach out to kids and provide hotlines and groups." She sighed at her excuse and Fang shook her head.

"I don't think you should if you don't want to Lightning. Not that I'm ungrateful, I would love it actually but this is your decision, no guilt attached."

"That's right. It's my decision and I've decided to do it. Fang…" She trailed off, not thinking of how to word what she felt. "I…" Fang bit her lip and tried not to get to hopeful. Instead she changed the conversation's direction and placed a hand on Light's shoulder and grinned. "Alright then. Swimsuits first. What is it you're wearing anyway?"

"It's um, a wrap bikini…? I don't know, I've had it for years already but it's kind of embarrassing so I never bothered with it." Fang nodded and went for her bikini on the sofa and looked at Sebastian while she peeled her shirt off. Lightning folded her arms and stared up at the ceiling not noticing Fang was getting undressed. "Listen Fang… I really wanted to say that…" "..Uh-huh." Fang was taking off her shorts now, her eyes still on the man as he tinkered with his stand. As she thought, he was gay and totally uninterested in her naked body. She was only half-listened to Lightning as she did this and didn't notice as the other woman struggle to say something.

"I just… I'm only doing this… For you, okay?….." After a few seconds of no answer she looked down to see Fang was standing in the living room stark naked. Her face burned up and she didn't understand anything she felt at the moment. Not the thumping in her chest or the blood rushing in her ears or the relaxed feeling in her eyes. Her hands were cold and her neck and knees felt weak. All in all, it was a weird but jolting experience. She couldn't take her eyes away even when Fang looked to her and started speaking.

"Lightning? Hey…" She noticed the other woman looking at her odd and she put on her bikini to spare her a bit. She wondered if she made her uncomfortable or if Light really had looked…

Sebastian started speaking as he put the lights on them, which was good since it was starting to get cold. "Okay girls. I want you both to stand in the middle there. Right and just get comfortable and relax your faces, don't worry about me or the camera."

Fang was only nervous because of what she thought she saw. Hadn't Lightning said something? Maybe that was why she looked like that.

"Light, did you say something a minute ago?"

Sebastian stayed quiet as he watched the two. He heard the pink haired woman and had been watching them the entire time, curiously. There was definitely some chemistry there between them; they seemed like a better fit than the darker girl and her girlfriend in his opinion.

Light nodded as she recovered. Fang in a two piece wouldn't have been bad if she hadn't just seen her naked. Hadn't she seen her naked before? Maybe not so directly…

Taking in Fang's question she nodded again, "Yea. I said I know this is for a good cause and all but I wanted to tell you… This is mostly for you. I wanted to do this for you."

They kept eye contact for a few minutes as something as unspoken thoughts transpired between them. Finally a smile broke out on Fang's face and she hugged Lightning, resting her forehead on her friend's resulting in a rare smile from her.

Sebastian quietly pressed the camera and it silently took a dozen photos rather quickly.

'How cute. I'll be damned if these two aren't in love…' He then smiled and decided to get the show on the road. He coughed and walked over to them, readjusting the bodies slightly, leaving them more open to the camera and placing Lightning's arms around Fang as well. He walked back to his camera smiling broadly at their faces. Light was blushing shyly and Fang was smiling at her as if she were the cutest thing in the world.

"Alright ladies, Time to show your purple!"


End file.
